At last, we get some good news on academic growth scores in Hamilton County schools!
Student performance and learning in our schools improved dramatically in the past year, according to TNReady and TVAAS scores released Thursday by the Tennessee Department of Education.
The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment Scores measure student learning and accomplishment year over year by looking at performance in literacy, numeracy, science and social studies.
Hamilton County Schools' overall composite score was 3 - up from 1 last year. A 5 is the highest score, so Hamilton County has risen to the middle of the pack. We'll take it as a great step forward for the new leadership team of Hamilton County's Department of Education.
Since the 2013-2014 school year, the district has not earned a score above a 2, so while a 3 isn't the best we can hope for, scores are certainly going in in the right direction.
"The results from TVAAS this year are very encouraging," said Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. "Children exceeding a year's worth of academic growth in classrooms across the district is how Hamilton County Schools will become the fastest improving school district in the state of Tennessee."
The district's large gains in reading earned our students a composite score of 5 for literacy.
For math, however, the district earned a 1 - the lowest possible score.
In social studies, Hamilton County earned a 3, and in science a 4.
Ours was not the only system in the state to make gains. State officials said the scores show that more than 40 percent of schools across the state, or about 700 schools, saw improvement across the majority of their grades and subjects in 2018, and 210 of those schools saw improvement across all grades and subject, according to a news release.
"While we know we still have room to improve, we also want to celebrate the hundreds of schools in Tennessee that showed progress this past year," said Education Commissioner Candice McQueen, in a statement. "Today's results point to bright spots across the state. We want to learn from those places as we also continue to improve."
Notably, nearby Sequatchie County Schools was one of 11 school districts to earn a Level 5 in each TVAAS composite subject-area (literacy, numeracy, science, and social studies).
Good work, students and teachers!